[twister6]

Wow. Quite a big sound difference for 2 players that sound exactly the same according to the manufacture
But of course, Cu version is new and more expensive, and they need some reason for people to buy it instead of a regular one.

Sorry, I missed where the manufacturer stated it sounds the same. Can you please point me to a link? Or maybe other impressions comparing aluminum and copper version where people found it to sound exactly the same? My review was based on the two units I have in my hand, under identical test conditions. Of course, it's a single subjective data point, thus I'm curious about other impressions, if any are available. To my ears and with a pair of AP80s I had in my hands, the difference was noticeable, and as you can imagine, I'm not a noob after 200+ reviews shared in this community over the past 5 years (one of the reasons I received Contributor status and earned almost 26,000 reputation likes based on helping others in our forum).

I can only assume, price difference is due to a different material and manufacturing process, where they priced Copper version to be the same as Stainless Steel. I don't think they are marketing it as "higher price for a better sound". It's different, with one being leaner and brighter and the other one being fuller and warmer. It's up to a personal preference, and willingness to pay extra for a more premium material.

Btw, wonder if anybody compared aluminum to stainless steel?

 

[AndySocial]

Sorry, I missed where the manufacturer stated it sounds the same. Can you please point me to a link? Or maybe other impressions comparing aluminum and copper version where people found it to sound exactly the same? My review was based on the two units I have in my hand, under identical test conditions. Of course, it's a single subjective data point, thus I'm curious about other impressions, if any are available. To my ears and with a pair of AP80s I had in my hands, the difference was noticeable, and as you can imagine, I'm not a noob after 200+ reviews shared in this community over the past 5 years (one of the reasons I received Contributor status and earned almost 26,000 reputation likes based on helping others in our forum).

I can only assume, price difference is due to a different material and manufacturing process, where they priced Copper version to be the same as Stainless Steel. I don't think they are marketing it as "higher price for a better sound". It's different, with one being leaner and brighter and the other one being fuller and warmer. It's up to a personal preference, and willingness to pay extra for a more premium material.

Btw, wonder if anybody compared aluminum to stainless steel?

Didn't Hidizs say the electronics were identical and only the housing changed? That should lead to identical sound, but then it's not like Hidizs is terribly transparent.

 

[headfirst]

Didn't Hidizs say the electronics were identical and only the housing changed? That should lead to identical sound, but then it's not like Hidizs is terribly transparent.

This has been an interesting topic -- I never would have really thought about chassis affecting sound quality to a noticeable degree. I found this post which describes why and how chassis can affect the sound:

https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts...re's some merit to,quality, both good and bad.

From the article:
"One of the reasons chassis affect sound is electrical in nature. Circuit boards and wires carry electricity that generates radiated fields. Placing a conductor in close proximity to any other electrical conductor disrupts the field and changes the flow of energy; and musical performance suffers. Most chassis are constructed from material that conduct electricity. This is a desired property because one of the many tasks chassis are charged with is electrical shielding. Radiated noise levels from inside and outside the chassis are reduced by electrically grounding the enclosure, which then acts as a shield."

"Lastly, weight and construction techniques matter. Any piece of stereo equipment in the same room as the speakers risks contributing to sonic degradation if it’s too light or flimsy. Yes, there’s some merit to audio-by-the-pound. Chassis with too little mass act as microphones that pickup what the loudspeakers broadcast. This is one reason isolation bases and weights help sound quality.

Chassis matter, and can be a contributing factor to sound quality, both good and bad."

There are significant conductive and mass differences between aluminum and copper, so it appears as though this could be a solid reason for the sound differences.

 

[Seb Julien]

Didn't Hidizs say the electronics were identical and only the housing changed? That should lead to identical sound, but then it's not like Hidizs is terribly transparent.

You know that this article is about Amps close to Loudspeakers? Obviously I will not let my tubes/transistors amps in front of my 16 inches even if their casing are made with Mu-metal.

 

[PapaThrust]

This has been an interesting topic -- I never would have really thought about chassis affecting sound quality to a noticeable degree. I found this post which describes why and how chassis can affect the sound:

https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/chassis-sounds/#targetText=Yes, there's some merit to,quality, both good and bad.

From the article:
"One of the reasons chassis affect sound is electrical in nature. Circuit boards and wires carry electricity that generates radiated fields. Placing a conductor in close proximity to any other electrical conductor disrupts the field and changes the flow of energy; and musical performance suffers. Most chassis are constructed from material that conduct electricity. This is a desired property because one of the many tasks chassis are charged with is electrical shielding. Radiated noise levels from inside and outside the chassis are reduced by electrically grounding the enclosure, which then acts as a shield."

"Lastly, weight and construction techniques matter. Any piece of stereo equipment in the same room as the speakers risks contributing to sonic degradation if it’s too light or flimsy. Yes, there’s some merit to audio-by-the-pound. Chassis with too little mass act as microphones that pickup what the loudspeakers broadcast. This is one reason isolation bases and weights help sound quality.

Chassis matter, and can be a contributing factor to sound quality, both good and bad."

There are significant conductive and mass differences between aluminum and copper, so it appears as though this could be a solid reason for the sound differences.

Well, that article is highly opinionated I couldn't find any research or studies to back it up. (Except for the obvious differences in metals composition). That in itself is fine, often we hear what we want to hear while hoping or expecting some outcome. In all cases I believe we are splitting hairs in as much as whether there may be some difference in a performance characteristic in this case of a copper chassis. Hidiz said it specs the same, there is reasonable assumption that it should sound the same. They certainly did not come out and say it sounds different, if they felt it did wouldn't that be a great marketing opportunity?
Twister said his aluminum version is pre production, my bet would be something in that unit is the variation.
I am very interested to hear more comparisons from various users.

 

[Seb Julien]

I asked Hidizs again to confirm:

"Hello is there a difference between the sound of the copper and aluminum version? Are they tweaked differently inside? Do they sound the same? Thanks"

Hidizs answered:

"Dear Seb Julien Thank you for your inquiry. This Digital Audio Player has no difference in performance due to the difference in exterior color. Only the exterior color is different. Best regards Sorry for my poor English."

We all make mistake from time to time and no one is perfect, maybe while testing both the MSEB was ON on one of the device and not the other? Its not always obvious. Maybe by default on the aluminum version it is OFF while the copper one is ON. I don't know, just trying to help here.

 

[Bingo777]

Will dual DAC AP80 pro will be significant sound upgrade over single dac shanling m0 ?

 

[dnaimad]

Will dual DAC AP80 pro will be significant sound upgrade over single dac shanling m0 ?

Single DAC AP80 is already better sounding than Shanling M0, and they have the same DAC chip! So I'd expect the Pro to be even better.

 

[twister6]

I asked Hidizs again to confirm:

"Hello is there a difference between the sound of the copper and aluminum version? Are they tweaked differently inside? Do they sound the same? Thanks"

Hidizs answered:

"Dear Seb Julien Thank you for your inquiry. This Digital Audio Player has no difference in performance due to the difference in exterior color. Only the exterior color is different. Best regards Sorry for my poor English."

We all make mistake from time to time and no one is perfect, maybe while testing both the MSEB was ON on one of the device and not the other? Its not always obvious. Maybe by default on the aluminum version it is OFF while the copper one is ON. I don't know, just trying to help here.

I assume you were referring to me in your post, and I do appreciate your effort in trying to help. But when I said that both were tested under the same condition, I meant the same condition. We are not talking about night'n'day difference, but there is a difference I'm hearing which I took my time to describe in the review. I might even get a chance to audition another Copper ap80, to check for consistency.

Not quite sure why some people got triggered by this; usually happens more often in discussions about cables or burn-in or higher end DAPs, rather than entry level DAPs But either way, enjoy the music!!!

 

[headfirst]

But either way, enjoy the music!!!

Or as Hidizs would say: “Relish music. Beauty in the details!”

 

[Tweety 99]

Original question was if there is difference in sound between Copper and Aluminium. So it meant to be in re casing material.
Hidizs answer, though, was no difference due to the casing color. We know they have color variation of Alu version.
They have not answered to the original question. This might have caused some confusion....
It is fun to explore and experience sound difference due to various materials though.

 

[Tiax]

Will dual DAC AP80 pro will be significant sound upgrade over single dac shanling m0 ?

It depends.
How well will it be implemented, what iems or headphones will you be using, balanced vs unbalanced etc
It may be that you will not hear much difference at all.

 

[twister6]

Original question was if there is difference in sound between Copper and Aluminium. So it meant to be in re casing material.
Hidizs answer, though, was no difference due to the casing color. We know they have color variation of Alu version.
They have not answered to the original question. This might have caused some confusion....
It is fun to explore and experience sound difference due to various materials though.

A lot of stuff gets lost in translation I got half a dozen of messages already from different people asking me if I'm sure this is a copper chassis and not just another "pretty" color option because manufacturer keeps mentioning the color in their generic replies. When one unit is around 75g and another over 100g, you know the weight accounts for a different material

Also, it's hard to speculate how would a dual dac version affect the sound until we hear it with our own ears.

Btw, has anyone received SS version or talked about it here, including the comparison?

 

[Tweety 99]

A lot of stuff gets lost in translation I got half a dozen of messages already from different people asking me if I'm sure this is a copper chassis and not just another "pretty" color option because manufacturer keeps mentioning the color in their generic replies. When one unit is around 75g and another over 100g, you know the weight accounts for a different material

Also, it's hard to speculate how would a dual dac version affect the sound until we hear it with our own ears.

Btw, has anyone received SS version or talked about it here, including the comparison?

Well, I've been using SS version (mine was through KS program) and it is only the AP80 I have. No chance of compairing with Alu nor Cu so far.

 

[CactusPete23]

Now that they are offering a the "pro" version, we may get the HIDIZS marketing manager back here for a few weeks to answer questions (promote/sell) about the AP80 Pro, and maybe the new CU and SS/Aluminum variants.
- Only see HIDIZS active participation on head-fi when they have a new product to sell.